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S: L'Dor V'Dor "From Generation to Generation"

1: This book is dedicated to Wendy Goodman, our long-term educator, teacher and special friend. Her strength and perseverance are inspiring to us. She is a role model, a leader, and a friend. Her smile brings joy to people around her, and her drive for success makes us aspire to be like her. Without Wendy, this experience would not have been possible.

2: L'Dor V'Dor "From Generation to Generation" An intergenerational program between the 9th Graders at Temple of Aaron and Sholom Home residents, this experiential project was created this year to maximize Jewish learning and foster opportunities for our students to explore what it means to incorporate core Jewish values throughout ours lives. For seven weeks, we gathered to share stories about family, education, friendships, dating and marriage, careers, cultural and religious traditions, and the importance of community. New, unique, and special friendships were developed where honesty, trust, and wisdom were exchanged between 12 well respected Sholom Home residents and 20 young adults beginning their journey on how to create lives with purpose and meaning. Through interviews, photo albums, games, food and fun, we discovered many similarities and differences in our lives. We were amazed we could learn from each other no matter which generation we were from. This experience has been so meaningful to us all and one that we will forever cherish. A special thanks to Jim McDonald, Wendy Baldinger, Ellen Sloane, and Josh Fineblum for supporting this project and working with us to make it a success. As an old Jewish proverb says " A book gives knowledge, but it is life that gives understanding". --Elyse Levine Less & Wendy Oskey ( Temple of Aaron Teachers)

3: Introduction For the past few months, bonds between generations have been made. The 9th Grade Class of the Temple of Aaron (2010-2011) have made friendships with the residents of the Sholom Home, sharing laughs, memories, and most importantly time together. During this time we all learned valuable lessons which we know we will hold on to forever. We can't tell you how much we respect all of the people we interviewed. Thank you for sharing your lives with us each week and inspiring us to follow our dreams, take chances, continue our education, and live lives we can all be proud of. This book which we created for you highlights some of the inspiring stories you shared with us. -- Your Friends Forever The 9th Grade TOA Class

4: June has lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota for her whole life. Her accomplishments have inspired her family and many others to try and achieve what they want to do. At a time when women's education was not as popular as it is today, June graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BBA degree. She majored in economic and business administration and was one of the only women in the class. After college, she furthered her education by taking extra classes. Her dedication and high regard for learning has motivated her children, grandchildren, and numerous family friends to take long term schooling more seriously. She paved the way for other women who wanted to learn to reach for their goals. June's smile lets you know how much wisdom she has and how excited she is to share it with others. She was ahead of her time in the way that she carried herself and her self-sufficiency. I am proud and honored to have June as a friend. --Samantha Agranoff | June Barron: Ahead of Her Time

6: Margaret loves Christmas. Her family always cut their own tree and she made sure everyone celebrated together. As a meal, they usually ate roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, fruit soup (which contained pineapples, apples, apricots, and cherries) and Swedish cookies. | She didn't have a favorite gift but she liked the little things that she would get in stockings and each kid would receive one gift. She would celebrate Santa Lucia, a Scandinavian tradition, and visit with her friends. Spending time with family and sharing traditions continues to bring Margaret happiness. -Charlie Rosenblum & Sammi Donahue | Margaret Peterson-Family Traditions

9: Walter Schwarz- Age Never Matters There is so much that can be said about Walter Schwarz. He was born in Romania. He then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. He joined the US army in WWII. He was even a long time volunteer at the St. Paul JCC. He was happily married for 60 years. He has lived a complete life. One of Walter's greatest accomplishments was working for the US army in WWII as an interrogator. He started at a camp in Pennsylvania called Camp Richie. The people at Richie worked together until 1942 and then everyone left thinking they wouldn't see each other again. But just a couple years ago Walter saw a movie about Camp Richie and in the process found one of his WWII platoon mates. After multiple messages, they set up a reunion after 65 years. At the start of the decade ,Walter began volunteering as the greeter at the St. Paul JCC. He was almost 80 years old! He volunteered there for 10 years. But if I have learned anything from him, it is leadership, and no matter how old you are you can still make a difference. -Brandon Less and Helen Derechin

10: Traveling Through Time Sylvia Rosenman By Evan Weil and Sam Weinberger

11: Sylvia is an extremely special person. She has taught us more than we could have imagined over the past several weeks. We’ve learned the importance of education throughout our lives. Our lifestyles may have changed over the years, but the experience shows that the bond can be strengthened no matter how different our lives have been. Sylvia is an amazing person, and her stories from her experiences definitely show that as you get older you become much wiser. Sylvia has quite the story to tell from the running to grab coal for her family, to traveling the world, and we can’t forget to talk about the rabbinical students she dated when she was younger. She is a first- generation immigrant. She married her husband shortly after he got back from his service in the army. She taught kids for 25 years after graduating from college at age 45. (Even though she was a star student in high school and graduated at age 16.) She had 2 children, one who lives in Minneapolis and one who lives in Israel. She also has several grandchildren and even great-grandchildren! She is proud of them all!!

12: Growing up, Marilyn had a seemingly normal life, but as you get to know her you realize it is truly extraordinary. Ever since she was a young girl she has been changing standards. When Marilyn was a young girl she road bikes with her Christian neighbor, although her grandparents preferred her to be with Jewish kids. She was also one of the first woman to have a Bat Mitzvah in the Twin Cities, which influenced other woman and girls to become Bat Mitzvahs. Another time she influenced people was when she and her husband, Morris Dickel, moved to Wilmer in rural western Minnesota. Being the only Jewish family within 100 miles, they taught about what Judaism truly is, ridding the negative image. Marilyn started the tradition of a Passover Seder at the local church which they still continue through today. These are just a few of the ways that Marilyn Dickel has influenced people throughout her lifetime. -Rachel Burbul and Manny Bier | Marilyn Dickel-Influencing People Everywhere

14: Ada Rubenstein: Volunteer Extraordanaire | Ada Rubenstein was born during the nineteen teens. She had a happy married life, and has been very involved with Jewish organizations throughout her life. Her husband served in World War II, and she had her first child while he was overseas. Though she has traveled many places, she says Israel was the greatest place she has ever been, and she loves it dearly. Ada has always been involved in the Jewish community and has served on numerous boards and contributed to many Tzedakah projects. Her commitment and passion is never-ending! --Ben Cooper and Yasha Hoffman

17: Sarah Eliezer--Follow Your Dreams and Travel! Sarah Eliezer was born in 1926 in Cairo, Egypt. Growing up, Sarah liked Egypt for the most part. She went to school and had her Bat Mitzvah there; but Sarah didn't like that her father and brothers wouldn't let her work and this was one of the things that influenced her to move. In 1951, when Sarah was 25 years old and was married a year, Sarah and her family decided to start a new life and move to Brazil. Once in Brazil Sarah joined a club, which is something that she likes to do when she moves to a new country to help her meet new people. Sarah also had to learn Portuguese when she moved to Brazil because she spoke Arabic; she picked it up quickly and soon could understand Spanish, French, and Italian too! In Brazil she could work freely, which is one of the reason Sarah moved there. She started working in fashion for the first time in February of 1958 when she was 32 years old. When Sarah was 67, one of her daughters who lived in the United States needed her help; so without thinking twice about it, on January 1, 1993, Sarah moved to the USA to help her daughter. Just like in Brazil, Sarah joined a club when she came to the United States; she joined the JCC! Sarah made it very clear that traveling is really important in life. Sarah has traveled to many countries including: Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, France, Italy, England, Switzerland, and Israel. From her travels, she learned to speak French, Arabic, Portuguese, Yiddish, and English and can understand even more. She says that each country is different, but it would be too hard to pick a favorite one. Sarah encourages us to travel the world and see different places, as well as focus hard on our studies and do well in school. Sarah is a very helpful and compassionate person, and we are grateful to have gotten to know her during this experience. | Aidan Arnold & Jamie Oskey

19: Jean Litman- She brings a Smile to your Face By Carly Neren When you see Jean Litman you can't help but smile. When you hear her stories, adventures, and insights on life you are purely amazed. Jean was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1913. Throughout her lifetime she has experienced and accomplished many wonderful things. In the earlier years, Jean was blessed to have a chance at love. Her husband, Aaron, meant the world to her. Jean graduated high school at the age of 16. She did not go to college right away but she did take some night classes. When she was 54, Jean decided to go back to school and get her degree in human services. She had a few different jobs along the way including owning the White Bear Press with her husband for a little less than 20 years. One of her favorite things to do is to play Bridge. She started playing when she was 45 years old and took a few lessons but mainly just played with friends. Jean has gone through many things in her life and the advice that she gives shows exactly that. When asked what she wished she would have known that she didn't know when she was younger, she said; "We are better off if we don't know. Whatever happens in life, we learn to be prepared for. You live life so you build strength, overcome, and enjoy." These words and many of her wisdom inspired and touched me. This proves just how fantastic, strong, and intelligent Jean really is.

20: Lou Adams: "One who Always Finds the Good in Life" Lou Adams has always been positive. She always finds the good in life. An example of her optimism is that she went to Clown college with her friend. Lou’s friend was bipolar and Lou went with her for moral support and to help her friend get through the rough times. Of course clown college would be a fun experience, but really Lou was only going to help a friend. Lou’s favorite holiday of all time is Christmas. She loves Christmas so much! Throughout her whole life, Lou made Christmas villages. These villages would cover the whole room. There were little house and snow and lights, complete with little people, pets and presents. Lou had 9 Christmas trees in her house, each one with a different color theme. She had train tracks spinning throughout her house. Her daughters friends were amazed at all of the trains. Lou always loved this holiday and shopped around all year long looking for little things to put in her village. Lou was very dedicated to Christmas. Lastly, Lou always fostered babies. She wanted to make sure they had a good home. She loved to take care of the babies and be with them. In total, Lou fostered babies for 12 years. -Bree Peilen and Rachel Greenberg

22: Generous, Selfless, and Lots of Fun by Laura Jopp From the outside, Lou seems like a typical friendly woman. When you get to know her, she is a lot more than just friendly. She is generous and selfless, but she also knows how to have fun and has a great sense of humor. Not only does she have children of her own, but she had over 20 foster kids. She shared with me how difficult it was to take care of these kids, many of which had health issues, and how hard it was to give them up after 2 years of raising them. This shows how selfless she is because although it was emotionally difficult to take care of these kids, she drastically improved their lives by raising them for the first two years of life. Lou also showed me her fun and creative side. She showed me photos of her from clown college and told me all about how fun it was. She also had photographs to help her tell me about her favorite time of year: Christmas. Her creativity shined through every year when she would spend weeks decorating her house and setting up elaborate villages at Christmas time. I think Lou is a great role model because she shows that you can be generous, help others and still have fun doing things that make you happy. | More about Lou...

23: Betty spoke with love and respect for her family and friends. She lived most of her life in the same neighborhood and home she grew up in. Never married and an only child, her relationship with her parents was very special. She shared that they spoiled her as a child and when they became older, she took care of them. Betty was very proud of her father, a St. Paul police officer and detective who played a lead role in formalizing the first police union. Betty fondly shared taking road trips during the summer with her parents, riding in her Dad’s police car, and watching professional wrestling for hours with her father. She still loves to watch wrestling on TV and knows all the stars! After high school, she began working for the State of MN and became one of the first people to learn how to use computers. She received special technical training and said computers were really different than they are today. She worked her entire life for the state and eventually retired. Betty is soft spoken, friendly to all her visitors, and extremely grateful of her life. A dedicated and devoted daughter, friend, and employee, Betty shared this matter of fact advice “You make the best with what you have.” | Betty Kraemer: Technologically Savvy

25: Dave Hogle: A Proud American Dave is very proud of being a World War II veteran. He was stationed in the South Pacific, and his job was to shoot down planes that flew over head. When he came home, he met his wife Arbutus and went to work in his father-in-law's furniture and hardwood flooring business. His wedding and marriage was special, loving, family focused and religious. He and his wife had four girls: Michelle, Linda, Mary Lynn and Katherine. Religion is very important to how Dave lives his life. He wanted to become a minister. A quiet man, Dave has so much wisdom to share. --Luke Peilen and Michael Sagalowsky

26: Sam Sadie- " Survivor"

27: Sam Sadie’s eyes twinkle and his smile is engaging. One would describe him as adorable and sweet. You would not know it at first glance what a horrific childhood he survived. But look closely at his arm and you will see the permanent mark of the Nazis – a blue numbered tattoo that they branded him with upon his arrival at the Auschwitz death camp. His survival there was nothing short of a miracle. Mr. Sadie was born in Poland in 1927 to Yitzchak and Sarah Sadie. Until he was 12 years old he attended Chedar school. He remembers having to wear the Nazi mandated yellow star to school. When he was 12 years old, Germany invaded Poland and sent his whole family to the Poiznire work camp. His job was to put pipes underground for the railroad. He worked in 30 below zero temperature wearing only wooden shoes and no socks or hat. He worked at Poiznire for almost three years. Then, the Nazis came and took Mr. Sadie to Auschwitz. It took eight days stuffed into a windowless train car filled with scared people, no room to sit, to get to Auschwitz. There was no bathroom or food on the train. He arrived at Auschwitz in the middle of the night to the sound of dogs barking, pelting rain, and flashing lights. Many people on his train car did not survive the trip. The Nazis asked him how old he was in German. He told them that he was 18. They tattooed his arm and sent him to work. The Nazis shot him through the ear at Auschwitz and broke his fingers. The Nazis then sent him to Warsaw after the uprising. After the war, he spent over a year removing dead bodies of people the Nazis had killed at Birkanau. Five years after the war, he was sent to America by Jewish Family Services. He landed in St. Paul. He met his beautiful wife Mary in St. Paul when she came to visit her brother. He took Mary to a movie on their first date to the movie theatre on Robert Street and Concord for ten cents. They lived happily in St. Paul for many years and raised their family here.

28: The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. --Elie Wiesel

29: Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. -Golda Meir

31: What grows never grows old.

32: Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is! -Anne Frank

33: Sharing new games, stories, and laughter....

37: Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. --Albert Einstein